Redheaded Mermaid Princess
by azurecloche
Summary: On Hiatus
1. oo: Dive into reality

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**Redheaded Mermaid Princess**

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**&****T**he young princess swam around the royal palace,today was the day,it was her sixteenth birthday. It was at this age that the young mermaid herself would be crowned princess infront of all of Atlantica,so it was a very big deal. The red haired princess smiled and ran a hand through her perfectly fixed hair,soon the crown would rest on it. Waving her tail,she gazed around the crowded palace,everyone seemed to be excited and the princess couldn't help but share in their excited feelings.

"Everyone! Lend me your ears!"

The loud booming voice was her father's,the king of Atlantica. She smiled as she turned to face him,for she knew it was time for the crowning ceremony. All the merpeople in the palace turned to their faithful king who walked (or rather swam) down the royal stairs and faced his people to tell a long speech.

"It is at this time,my friends,that I am given the chance to crown my daughter as your princess."the king had said after his long speech. Hearing her cue,the princess swam to her father as he held the royal crown,"It is now that I crown you,my daughter,princess of Atlantica."he said as the crown was gently placed on her hand. "All hail Princess Kairi!"the king yelled out to all his people.

Princess Kairi stared at all her people as they bowed,all just for her. Kairi felt ontop on the world. Her ocean blue eyes scanned the whole palace to see her friend Sora joining everyone in praising her. Kairi had known Sora since they were 5 and they'd been great friends,since then they had been inseperatable. A smirk appeared on Kairi's face as she swam down through the aile of her people,Sora was still only fifteen,he would be turning sixteen in a month,this would give her a chance to make fun of him until he would be her age too.

The red head led her people to the royal dinning hall where the royal dinner would be heard. Kairi sank into the praise everyone was giving her that she didn't see Sora swiftly escape out the royal palace.

**&&&&&**

"Prince Hiro?"

The frustrated butler rubbed his wrinkled temples as he tried his best to shake the dear prince awake. Being a butler for five years for the prince,he should've gotten used to this,though he hadn't. "May I try waking him up?"the butler turned to the young chief leaning casually on the wall inside the room. The butler looked at the prince then at the royal cook then shrugged,anything to avoid contact with the prince.

The cook smiled to himself as the old butler left the room,his eyes then focused on Prince Hiro's sleeping body on the newly bought white couch. He chuckled quietly as he ruffled the boy's messy black hair;the prince looked stressed out. The chief couldn't blame him though,he was going through alot lately. It was only a week ago that the prince found out his family was all killed off in war and the only one remaining was his young cousing Shima. Now the prince had to deal with his cousin moving in as well as trying to find a princess for him to marry.

Letting out a soft sigh,the chief softly took hold of the prince's leg,he took a deep breathe then-Bam!

"Ouch..."

He stared at the prince's body,now on the floor after being dragged off the couch. "Demyx!"the prince cried out as the cook gave an innocent look towards the prince to rival his glare. "Sorry...had to wake you up."Demyx replied as the prince dusted himself off. "Man...I was having a nice dream too."Hiro said quietly to himself as he looked bakc at the cook infront of him.

"Ugh...You couldn't have done it nicely?"he said sarcastically staring at the paperwork on his desk. "Man...How many more days?"he asked walking over to the table to arrange the mess he had made only hours ago. "Till Shima comes? Only two more..."Demyx replied patting the prince's back and softly added,"Don't worry,you'll make it."

The prince smiled back at Demyx,"Thanks Demz."he said staring at the paperwork he had to fill out in order to arrange the living arrangements of his cousin. "Only took an hour to fill these out."he said throwing them to Demyx,"Give them to the Secretory...Ah...Her name was Orette right?"he asked leaving the room,"No,it was Olette."Demyx said but the prince had already left. Demyx sighed as the heavy paperwork laid in his weak arms,he stared at the first sheet with Shima's picture and the filled out form in the bottom;it also seemed to have Hiro's information at the bottom.

**RESIDENTIAL FORM**

Resident moving in

**Name: **_Nakeshima Dai "Shima"_

**Age: **_13_

**Birthdate: **_9/13_

**Health Problems: **_None_

**Relation: **_Cousin_

**Previous Home: **_Radient Garden_

**Moving to: **_Destiny Islands_

**Class: **_Royalty_

**Other family: **_Deceased_

**Why Resident is Moving In: **_Relatives dead,last living relative avalable_

Resident's Owner

**Name: **_Hiroku Dai "Hiro"_

**Age: **_17_

**Birthdate: **_8/6_

**Health Problems: **_None_

**Relation: **_Cousin_

**Current home: **_Destiny Islands_

**Class: **_Royalty_

Demyx ignored the rest and put down the sheet back with the others;he laughed at the prine's ill handwriting and wondered he didn't just get Olette to do it. He dropped the papers by Olette's office and walked back to the kitchen where he was needed. Only two more days till he would get to see his favorite princess. "Two more days!"he yelled across the hall. He smiled to himself as he remembered the princess. Full of energy and always giving the prince Hiro trouble. Smart talking to him,showing better intelligence then and such. Another laugh escaped him before he entered the kitchen.

**&&&&&**

Kairi swam swiftly acroos the palace floor,the royal dinner had just finished and she saw no sign of Sora anywhere. "Where is he?"she scowled to herself as she asked some mermaids that were chatting by the desert table. They had seen no sign of the spiky haired boy anywhere. "Sora..."she said shaking her fist despite her mind telling her to keep her polite posture.

"Kairi?"

The redhead looked behind her to see named boy,"Sora!"the princess cried tackling him,"Where have you've been?"she asked sternly watching as the boy grew uneasy. "No where..."he muttered. Kairi could always tell when her friend was lying,and she knew that right now Sora was currently lying to her,the princess of the sea. "I know your lying!"she said bringing Sora outside.

"Now tell me the truth!"she said keeping stern,Sora avoided eye contact then laughed nervously,"No where...really Kai...I just wondered around..."he said but Kairi scowled. "Sora...Tell me the truth now! You know I could hang you if you lie to me right?"she snickered. The merman swallowed hard before answering,"I was...Uh...Okay I was watching the land people!"he blurted out.

Kairi stared at him hard,she knew that merpeople were not allowed on land unless they were sixteen,surely a just princess would hang anyone who broke that law right? But Sora was her bestfriend. "Sora...What am I going to do with you..."she said shaking her head.

"But I have a good reason,I was just looking...You know...For my brother..."Sora said with regret. Kairi stared sadly at Sora for she knew what happened to his brother. His brother was a famous musician here in Atlantica. Then he fell in love with a human girl and a sea witch turned him human. Sora never saw his brother again. Now Kairi understood,that's why Sora was up there,he thought there was still hope that his brother was alive;although it seemed impossible since anyone who has had the help of the sea witch had died and turned to sea foam.

Kairi bit her lower lip,"Okay...I'll let it slip..."she said recieving a relieving sigh from Sora. She smiled as she hugged Sora,"You worry me sometimes."she said playfully pushing the merman. "I'll repay you...How's bout you and me go up there and watch the land people!"Sora said as he and Kairi entered the palace once more.

"Sounds great Sora...Sounds great..."

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Be nice. Tis the first try I'm going at to make a fairtale! 


	2. o1:Realise the truth

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**&****K**airi slowly swam next to her bestfriend,she was unsure of herself. Sure,she was sixteen and legal to go watch the land people but she was worried Sora might get caught. "Maybe we should turn back? I mean,what if you get caught."Kairi said worriedly to her energetic friend. "Aw Kai...You worry too much."he replied as their heads met the fresh air. "I've been doing this for two years and I've never been caught."Sora said as he led Kairi as close as they could to the shore without being seen.

"You've been doing it that long? Amazing..."Kairi said with a hint of saracatic-ness to her voice as her eyes shifted to the workers moving some lunguage to the huge white palace not far from there. It amazed Kairi how humans were so different,from their ways to their legs. Yet she knew they weren't that much different,they were still living breathing things and they had lives.

"The prince lives there."hearing Sora's voice brought Kairi back form her thinking,she glanced at the huge palace,it reminded her much of the palace back home. "Oh really?"she asked gazing again at the people in the shore,they must've been the prince's servants. "Oh there he is right there on the shore!"Sora said pointing to a tall tanned man with semi-spiky black hair covered with a golden crown.

Kairi couldn't help herself when the thoughts of,_Oh my gosh he's cute_,_I think I found my prince_ and etc. entered her mind. She smiled as she watched the prince tried to help his servants lift a heavy bed and found himself too weak. "Uh...Kai..."she admiring stopped when Sora reluctantly waved his hand infront of her face and brought her back to earth.

The princess smiled nervously as she turned her attention back to Sora,"Anyways...That's the prince. Prince Hiro as everyone calls him."Sora explained to his friend. Kairi nodded,"I think they're moving the princess' stuff into the building before she comes."Kairi bit her lower lip hard,"So he has a princess...he's married then..."she said sadly looking away.

"Oh,not at all."

Kairi sharply turned back to Sora,"He's not?"she asked,"Nope,the princess is his cousin,last living relative he has. She's moving here tomorrow atleast that's what I've heard."he explained making Kairi smile,_So he's not married_,she thought happily,"You sure know alot..."she commented.

"'Course I do...I have been watching this place for two years...The princess' name is Shima,she's smart and always helps the prince when she visited but since she's gonna live here,I guess she'll be helping the prince until he gets married. Although first he has to find a princess to marry first."Sora said nodding as he explained. Kairi again nodded,"Too bad I'm not human,then maybe I could've married the prince."she said dreamily.

"Yeah but your not...So com'n Kai,come back to earth...Again."Sora said laughing seeing his friend falling in love with the human prince. It then dawned on him that,that was excactly what had happened to his brother,he stopped laughing when the thought of the same thing that had happened to his brother would happen to his best friend. He opened his mouth to say something about that but they were interupted by a familiar voice that made everyone turned their heads. Sora had heard it before,it was the princess.

**&&&&&**

Prince Hiro swallowed hard,that was the princess' voice,_what was she doing here?I thought she was suppose to come tomorrow?_,the prince thought as he stared up at the cliffs where his young cousin was skipping down from.

_"Can hear them? Their voices are louder. They say wishes are just a dream. But I believe...That they are indeed true. Sinking into the waves of doubts,let the wings of light lift you away into the sky."_

Hiro couldn't help but smile as the princess sang the lullaby that everyone in his family knew. "Princess Shima!"he heard his servant Yuffie call out as she ran up and picked up the small girl,"I'm so happy to see you!"she squeeled as the servantrs stopped their work and all huddled around the young girl and welcomed her back to the islands.

"Welcome home Shima!"he yelled out breaking through the crowd and giving his cousin a hug,"Why are ou here? You were suppose to come here tomorrow,"he said walking the princess to the castle and signalling everyone to get back to work. "I don't know...I just couldn't wait to get here...I mean look at you. You need my help!"Shima said jokingly as she pointed out her cousin's lack of muscle,hair care and a girl. "Oh but once you settle in,I'm going to find a girl to marry."Hiro said as he entered the princess' room.

It was the room she had always stayed in when she always visited,it had mostly stayed the same except for the extra furniture addded to the room. "But the girl you'll marry will have to meet my standards."Shima said as she layed in her bed and took in the scent of the room,"Yeah yeah...whatever."Hiro said as he was about to leave escept that Demyx had entered the room with a big smile on his face as he picked up the princess and hugged her tightly.

"Princess Shima!"he yelled as the princess begged for air,"Oh sorry..Man am I happy your here!"Demyx said as he put the girl back down delicately on the bed. "It's good to see you too Demy."the girl said smiling as she poked the cook. "Shall I cook your favorite for dinner?"he asked already walking out,"Yes sir!"Shima chirped.

**&&&&&**

Swimming down,Kairi could only think of the prince she saw,she tried to shake him off but it didnt' work. She turned to Sora who was swimming next to her,the rest of the way seemed quiet so Kairi decided to break the silence. "That princess Shima seems really nice..."she said catching Sora's attention,"Of course,she's going to be princess so she has to be nice. I heard say it herself,'I'm nice because I care,if I didn't then I wouldn't be princess now would I?'"he said trying to act out the princess' personality.

"Ah...Spoken like a true princess."Kairi said nodding. Sora then stopped immediantly and fiddled with his tail,"What's wrong?"Kairi asked stopping as well. "Kairi,your in love with the prince Hiro right?"Sora asked. Blushing,Kairi nodded,"Well,I'm worried you'll end up like my brother..."Sora said looking down sadly as painful memories shifted into mind.

Kairi looked down sadly then swam up to Sora and hugged him,"Don't worry...I won't end up like him."she said sweetly,"Thanks Kai."Sora said returning the hug.

Even so,a thought lingered in Kairi's head.

_I do love him._

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Yes,second chapter already.

And yeah,in fairytales,princesses always have love at first sight.

But that doesn't happen in real life now does it?


	3. o2: A sinister deal

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**&****S**oft humming could be heard from princess Kairi's room as she brushed her firey red hair,it was yesterday when she saw prince Hiro and now it was morning of the next day. Putting her hairbrush down on her underwater vanity,she glanced at herself seeing just how beautiful she was. It was then her thoughts shifted to the land prince,oh how she wished she could just... meet him. See him. Get to know him. But it was impossible and Kairi knew it. Long distance relationships don't last. She was in the sea and he was on land. Taking a deep sigh,she swam to the window and gazed around as all the merpeople middled around doing their normal routine. "Wonder what Sora's up to?"Kairi asked herself as she swam ontop her bed,staring at her cieling. Her thoughts sent her to sleep.

---

The weather was quite warm on land,taking a deep breathe,Sora exhaled and enjoyed the view around him,sea around him and land just a bit far from him. He glanced around the shore,all he could see were two servants chatting with eachother about the prince and princess. Sighing,Sora was about to go back down and get Kairi when a familiar human walked on shore. Mentally,Sora scowled to himself as he saw the young man pretend to look great when he really wasn't. The human was none other then Sir Riku,one of the richest men on the island next to the prince. Through all his years of watching the land people,Sora had to say that he didn't really favor Riku.

Swimming abit closer to the shore,Sora tried to hear what Riku was saying.

"Ah...Good evening...Er...Servants."

The merman could see that even the servants didn't seem to favor Riku either as they both tried to maintain their stature and look at Riku with respect. One of the servants,Yuffie a lifeguard at the shore for the prince and princess stood up from where she sat and spoke.

"Hello sir Riku,how may we...assist you..."Sora could tell Yuffie didn't want to be nice to the guy and he couldn't blame her. Riku stared at Yuffie for a moment before replying to her,"I heard Shima moved in yesterday...I just wanted to say hi."

The other servant Yuffie was talking to turned his head and muttered quietly,"Yeah right."but Riku heard and picked up the servant. It was Tidus,the young boy who's job was to clean the bedrooms,"What did you say servant boy?"Riku hissed cruelly at him. Oh how badly did Sora want to defend the poor lad,he tightened his fist then looked back up at the scene.

"Leave him alone Riku."Yuffie said but that seemed to only make things worse because Riku glared at her,"Are you trying to order me around servant girl?"he hissed. Yuffie stepped back,"No,I was j-j-just-"she was cut off by Riku dropping Tidus and going over to her and holding a knife at her neck. "Bad things happen to people who try to order me around servant girl."he hissed then swiftly put his knife away and walked a few steps away from Yuffie and turned his back to her.

"Tell me servant girl. Who are the servants?"Riku asked coldly as Yuffie ran to Tidus' side.

"We are sir Riku."

"And who is the one who will get the servants killed if they don't show him respect?"

"You are sir Riku."

"Remember that and we'll be okay."

As Sora watched the scene,he gritted his teeth together almost turning them to dust,oh how much he hated that Riku. Oh how he hated how Riku was cruel to his servants yet pretended to be nice infront of them just so the princess would be fond of him. Swimming behind one of the rocks,Sora could see the servants escort Riku inside the castle. That was that. If Sora had legs,he would be walk up to that Riku and show him some respect. Unfortunately for him,he had a tailfin and couldn't. Taking a deep sigh,Sora could only be grateful that the prince would never let anyone like Riku get close to the princess.

One last glance and Sora took a dive back to sea.

**&&&&&**

A soft yawn escaped the prince's lips,he stared at the clock that read 10 o'clock. He mentally hit himself,he really wasn't a morning person. Walking quietly to the door,he quietly escaped the library for he had slept in there because he had some important paperwork that seemed to only want his attention. Swiftly,he made it down most of the hallway until he found himself at the front of Shima's room,the door was open and from what it showed,the princess was still in a deep sleep. Hiro laughed to himself remembering that the princess wasn't a morning person either. If it was permitted,he wuld come up here and wake the princess up if she still hadn't awaken.

Slipping down the stairs,he found himself at the dining room which was next to the front door which had just happened to open when Hiro arrived there. Turning to the people who had just entered,he saw his two servants Yuffie and Tidus accompanying Riku. Again Hiro mentally hit himself,It just had to be Riku. He knew Riku was trying to win over Shima and be prince,oh how he hated him but his princely stature in the system couldn't allow him to show that. So he sucked it up,stiffened up and walked over to Riku and shook his hand as a sign of respect.

"Riku,my dear comrade,how're your doing?"he asked politely allowing him to sit at the table,if bad luck made it so,he might have to offer Riku to eat breakfast with him. "Oh I'm great,pobably doing better then you,thanks for asking."Riku replying taking his seat and took interest to play with his mini knife. Hiro kept all of the negative thoughts behind his head as he also took his seat,"So what brings you to the castle?"he asked calmly. Balancing the knife's blade on his finger,Riku threw it up then catched it by its handle before speaking,"I'm here to see Shima. Is she awake?"he asked,"No,she's still asleep. Oh well maybe you could see her tomorrow!"Hiro said quickly wanting to end it there.

"Well maybe if I could wait a few-"Riku tried to reasoned but Hiro was already practically shoving out the door and there was no way with his stature right now that he could object to the prince,but once he was married to the princess then he could probably get away with disrespecting the prince once or twice. Shutting the door behind him,Hiro gave a sigh of relief. It was at that moment that Demyx had entered with two plates of eggs in each hand,"Good morning Prince Hiro!"he chirped as he layed the plates on the table. He glanced at the prince that leaned against the door looking stressed,"Something wrong?"Demyx asked concerned as he took a seat,Hiro glanced at him and took his seat once more,"He's baaack!"a young voice said from under the table,lifting the table cloth,they found Tidus.

"Tidus..."Hiro said rubbing his temples,"Sorry Prince Hiro...I'll get back to work."the young servant boy said as he crawled out the table and ran upstairs. Laughing silently,Demyx poured a cup of green tea for the prince,"Riku problem?"he asked as he siezed laughing. "Yes,and since Shima has moved in,he probably won't leave us alone."Hiro said as he reached for some silverware to help eat his food. "Oh,well its okay prince Hiro,we'll get through it."Demyx said reassuringly recieving a nod form the prince.

"Get through what?"

Both men look up to see Shima staring down at the from the stairs,they both just just smiled as they watched her come down. "Good morning princess Shima."Demyx said when she had reached the table,"Amazing,she woke up before noon."Hiro said sarcastically as she sat down. "Shut up Hiro,your not a morning person yourself too remember?"Shima said taking a bite of her eggs. "Yeah...Well,I'm going to the beach. See you guys later."HIro said standing up and swiftly taking his leave.

"What's with him?"

"Prince Hiro just happens to have alot of problems now."

"Because of me?"

"No princess...Just regular problems."

**&&&&&**

Time seemed to have gone by so quickly,when Kairi woke up,it was an hour after she had slept. "What a nice nap..."the mermaid princess said dreamily as she rubbed her eyes open,slowly she shifted off her bed. Swinging her tail,she swam to the vanity and stared at herself once again. After a few seconds did the princess sigh,the thought of the prince shifted into her head. "If only I could have legs,just for a week so I could get to know him then I would die happy."Kairi said as she swam out of her room.

The mermaid princess daydreamed to herself as she swam around the castle grounds,it was peaceful until a hissing voice broke through Kairi's thoughts,"Princess Kairi,princess Kairi. only I can help you with your problem. Come quickly to me,sister Kiyoko is the answer to your problem."the voice hissed in Kairi's ear. Turning sharply,Kairi swam towards the source of it.

The voice had led Kairi into the dark waters,a cave on a sea mountain seemed to be where the voice was speaking from. Cautiously,Kairi swam to the entrance and looked into the cave although it was too dark for her to see what was inside. "Come princess Kairi,sister Kiyoko is here,waiting to help you with your problem. Only sister Kiyoko can help you win the prince's heart."the voice hissed from inside. Without thinking,Kairi found herself swimming into the dark cave. Staring around the darkness of thecave,there seemed to be no source of light yet Kairi was able to find her way to the only part of the cave that seemed to be lit.

A huge crystal ball layed in the middle of the room that glowed a bright purple light,"Uh...Hello? Is anyone there?"Kairi asked regretting ever comming here now. "Sister Kiyoko is here!"a loud voice boomed from behind the crystal,Kairi turned to the ball now seeing a figure rise from behind it. The creature that rose from the ball was not a mermaid but a girl with the top half of her as a human and the lower half having the tenticals of a squid;she seemed to be around Kairi's age yet she still found herself feeling small in her eyes.

The squidgirl's purple eyes stared deeply into Kairi's eyes,her matching purple hair seem to go about everywhere,"Are you...Sister Kiyoko?"Kairi asked in a tiny voice,"Yes, and I am here to help you princess Kairi."the squidgirl replied giving a smile. Swallowing hard,Kairi nodded,"But how? How are you going to help me?"she asked curiously. Kiyoko played with her tenticals for a moment before swimming around the crystal ball and pulling out tube of a light purple potion,"With this dear."she said dropping it into Kairi's hands at which Kairi looked at it,examining it carefully.

"How will this help me?"Kairi asked looking up at Kiyoko,"Ah..."Kiyoko once again swam behind the crystal ball and grabbed a piece of paper,"This potion...Will give you legs!"Kiyoko said. Its no shock that Kairi's eyes opened wide,"What?"she asked shocked.The squidgirl swam around the mermaid princess,"That's right,this potion will give you legs. And with it,you can go up and meet your prince and do so much more."Kiyoko said holding the paper infront of Kairi.

"You have a week till the potion wears out. If you can get the prince to say he loves you,then you can keep your legs forever!"Kiyoko exclaimed making a pen appear in Kairi's free hand,"All you have to do is sign.". Unsure of herself,Kairi stared at the potion,the pen then at the paper. Could she really grow legs and meet the prince? maybe even stay on land with him? Kairi bit her lower lip,this was a big opportunity and surely she should take it,right?

"All I have to do is sign?"Kairi asked,Kiyoko nodded,"Just sign then you can finnaly meet your prince charming."she said as the redheaded princess slowly swam to the contract and found herself signing it. "The deal is set!"and with that the contract rolled up vanished in a puff of smoke. "Just drink the potion before its past fifteen otherwise it'll come back to me,make sure your near land because the instant you drink it,you start to grow legs and lose your ability to breathe under water."Kiyoko warned then gave a sinister smile,"And there are two other things you should know."she said coldly swimming behind the crystal ball.

"What?"Kairi asked as she swam close to the crystal ball,"Since you signed,the contract,when you haev used the potion,the moment you have legs,if you fail to get the prince to love you then...You turn to sea foam!"the squiadgirl said letting an evil laugh escape her lips. Kairi stared at her coldly,"You tricked me!"she yelled outraged,"Oh no dear,I'm helping you...Oh and the other thing is...The moment you walk on land,you will be mute and I will keep your voice until the week is up."Kiyoko added cruelly waving her hand at Kairi,"Leave now...you signed our contract so therefore there is no turning back,even if you don't use the potion because even if you don't you'll turn into sea foam!"the evil creature said avoiding Kairi's cold glares as she swam out the cave.

---

"Kairi!"Sora yelled around the castle grounds when he had arrived,he was thinking of showing Kairi more of the land people. "Kai?"he aksed concerned when she hadn't answered his call,swimming to the back,he saw his friend sitting on a rock holding a strange potion. "Kairi what's wrong?"he asked quickly swimming to her to see her crying. Kairi turned away from him,it had een only a minute ago that she had come bakc from Kiyoko's cave and realised her fate.

"Sora..I made a deal with the sea witch!"Kairi yelled crying more. At that,Sora bit his lip so hard that blood came from it. "Kai..Kairi...Why?"he asked hiding his anger towards his friend. "I didnt know..I was being so foolish now I'm stuck with this potion. I have to dirnk it so I'll have two legs and now I have a week to win Prince Hiro's heart and if I fail I'll turn to sea foam!"Kairi stamered gripping the tube hard.

Sora grinded his teeth hard,there was no turning back from the deal he knew that,sighing he knew there was only one way,"Then do it Kai...Don't worry I'll help you through it. We'll make that prince fall in love with you!"Sora exclaimed rubbing Kairi's back. "What? But Sora! I'll bemute once I drink the potion! How will I win the prince's heart when I can't talk?"Kairi asked staring at Sora in disbelief,"Hurry just drink the potion! Let me handle everything!"he said quickly.

**&&&&&**

Prince Hiro sat ontop a rock thinking,just thinking of al the changes he had been through,his family dead with only his cousin,the pressure to find a queen and not to mention Riku. Rubbing his sleek black hair back,he put his crown on the ground next to him. Things just seemed to be chaning too fast fot him to handle. A loud splash broke through his thoughts. Jumping to his feet,Hiro looked around for its source. Looking behind a rock,Hiro widened his eyes. It was a girl wrapped in a cloth that was lying in the sand.

"Who are you?"

"..."

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This must be the longest chapter of this story I've ever written! 

And it only took me two days.

Anyways,sorry for making Riku so mean but the story needed another villain besides the sea witch.


	4. o3: Day 1 &Let the journey begin&

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**&****A**lot of things came to mind when Kairi stared at the prince,her blue eyes met his,"Are you okay?"she heard the prince ask kindly as he grabbed her hand and helped her up. Kairi bit her lower lip as she felt her face get hot,the prince motioned her to sit next to him on the more softer sand. She looked down,even though she knew this would happen,she was still surprised to find her tailfin replaced by a pair of legs. Briging one leg infront of her,Kairi seem to lose her balance as she had failed to walk and fell next to the prince whom she could tell was hiding his laughter towards her.

Picking herself up,she managed to sit and stare at the prince,she opened her mouth but nothing came out,_I forgot_,Kairi thought as she closed her mouth,_I can't talk_. She found herself dumbfounded seeing as the prince was looking at her expecting an answer. "Can you...Talk?"the prince asked unsure if that was the right thing to ask. Kairi managed a nod and then stared down at the sand,the prince nodded as he reached into his pockets and brought out a pen and paper. "Here,write your name here."he said.

Staring at the paper infront of her,Kairi held the pen and somehow felt a feeling of deja vu,like she was signing another sinister deal. She shook her head lightly so the prince wouldn't notice and wrote her name in a curvy way that looked elaborate.

_Kairi_

Prince Hiro stared at the handwriting,amazed that this girl could write so much better then her could,managing a smile,he looked back at the girl. "Its nice to meet you Kairi. My name's Hiro."he stood up once again and scratched the back or his head,"Sorry you can't talk."he added as he took Kairi's hand and lifted her up with him,"Here,let me take you to the castle,you look a little bruised up."he said as he led her into the castle,Kairi only nodded as she found herself balancing on him as they walked.

---

The waves hit a huge rock that sat on the sea,a head of spiky brown hair was seen only for a second. Sora leaned on the rock as he blew his bangs from hiding his right eye,"Okay Sora,your bestfriend has to win the prince in seven days,the thing is that she's deaf. What is your next move?"he mumbled to himself as he looked back at the shore only to find Kairi and Hiro already halfway to the castle. "Well,first thing I have to do is find a way to talk to Kairi."he said as he dove into the ocean.

---

"Princess Shima,be careful..."

On her toes,Shima stood on a stool as she reached up the fireplace to try and get a glance at the picture ontop of it. "Don't worry Demy,I'll be okay."she said as she took a quick glance at the blonde cook sitting on the couch watching her,"But if you fall,its not my fault."he snickered. "Ugh...Almost got it!"Shima said as she just reached up higher,she closed her palms around the feeling a smooth surface,"I got-"the rest of her sentence got stuck in her throat as she found herself falling and colliding with the floor.

"Princess! You okay?"Demyx asked rushing forward to stare down at the girl. Blinking her eyes quickly,she stared at the blue eyes of Demyx as she held the object to her chest,"Yeah,nothing broken."she replied flashing a smile at him before picking herself up. She stared at the object she had grabbed,it was a golden frame holding a picture of her whole family,cousins and all. "You miss them?"Demyx asked looking over her shoulder. "Yeah."Shima said as she pressed the frame to her chest again.

"You guys! Hurry!"

Turning her head,Shima could see Demyx and other servants rush to the front door to greet and help the prince with whatever he needed,she held the frame on one side before running to greet her cousin. "Hiro!"she said as she broke through the crowd to see her cousin holding a girl. Her fiery red hair caught Shima's attention as she watched Hiro placed the girl on a seat,"This is Kairi everyone."he said as she snuck next to the girl to get a closer look. "I found her on the beach,she can't talk."she heard Hiro say from behind her. "She's a bit bruised up so she'll be staying here for awhile."he contiued as all the servants got a closer look.

"Hi there Kairi! I'm the princess here. So my cousin found you on the beach,huh? You can't talk? Sorry. My name's Shima by the way!"she exclaimed eager to welcome the girl. Kairi's eyes widened at the sight of being in the presence of a princess,though she felt awkward about it since she was too a princess so why was she so nervous,slwoly,she nodded as she sulked into the chair;it felt quite comfy. "Shima your scaring her!"Hiro snickered from behind the two girls,Shima shot him a death glare as she stood up.

Kairi watched the princess stepped a bit away from her,she turned to the prince who was bringing a young lady towards her,"Kairi,this is Tifa,our doctor. She'll just be checking on your bruises and such."he said flashing her that smile that made her heart beat fast. "Okay Kairi,let's go to my office where we'll examine you. You look a bit bruised up anyways."Tifa said as she led Kairi to the room down the halls.

Quickly,Shima placed the picture under her shoulder and ran after Tifa and Kairi. "I wanna come too!"she said as she trailed behind Kairi,mentally she noted that the redhead looked about as old as Hiro. "Just sit here miss Kairi."Tifa instructed as she opened the door to her office and motioned to a bench,Shima managed to take a seat on a stool next to the ench Kairi sat on. Kairi gulped,she wondered what being at the doctor's office on land would be like,in the sea there wasn't a real bad need for a doctor since barely anyone got hurt but in land it seemed that everyday a person got hurt.

After about twenty minutes of exmining Kairi's body,wrapping up some bruises and applying some medicine,Tifa sat on her seat that spun around and tapped her pen on the table. "Well,except for a few bruises here and there,I say your pretty okay Kairi."Tifa finnaly said as she put down her pen and gave Kairi a tube of medicine to apply to her wounds.

"Here Kairi!" the mermaid princess followed the young land princess as they walked across the great white halls,"I'll show you where you'll be staying okay?"Shima said as she opened a door to the royal guest room. Kairi entered the room and inhaled the scent of lavender,the room had a sort of aura to it,slowly she walked to the bed and sat on it. "Comfy right?"Shima asked as she sat next to Kairi and bounced playfully on the bed laughing. 

Kairi gazed around the room,it looked nothing like the royal rooms underwater,"Here are some clothes you can use."Shima said as she opened the closet on the other side of the room,casually she layed some dresses on the bed. "Here you can pick."she said as Kairi gazed at the three. Never in her life had Kairi ever seen...a dress,after all,mermen had no use for clothes. She stared at all three,a blue short one,a red long one and a purple medium one,thinking fast she took a hold of the blue one and slipped it on. Swirling around,Kairi gazed at herself in the mirror,she marveled at how pretty she looked in it,"You look so pretty!"Shima said in awe making Kairi smiled.

"Having fun here ladies?"

Both looked at the door to see prince Hiro leaning on the side of the door smirking at them,"What are you doing here Hiro?"Shima asked rolling her eyes at him. Hiro flashed a mocking Shima's death glare at her as he walked over to Kairi,"Hope my cousin isn't disturbing you."he said as with great timing stopped said cousin from clawing him to death. Kairi managed a smile and nod,"You look great too!"he added staring at her with a huge smile plastered on his face,"Like a true princess...Unlike some peopel!"he said yelling the last part as he let go of his hand blocking Shima making her charge at a wall.

"I'm okay!"she yelled rubbing her head. Kairi stared at the little girl and helped her up,"Thanks Kairi."she said quickly as she wobbled to the door,"I'll be going now!"she slured as she finnaly vanished. Shyly,Kairi noticed that she and prince Hiro were now alone,_Ah crap_,she thought blushing fiercly. "You okay Kairi?"quickly,Kairi turned around to find Hiro a bit too close to her. Very quickly,Kairi nodded and turned her back to him as she held her face feeling it burn up,"Ah..Okay then..."she heard Hiro say before hearing his footsteps go for the door,"I'll be in the kitchen,call you when dinner is ready okay?"he asked before closing the door.

And that was that,Kairi was now alone in her room. She closed the door and sat on the bed,with nothing else to do,she picked up the picture at the end of her bed,it was the one Shima was holding. Smiling to herself,she remembered what Sora had told her,that all the royal family had died leaving only Hiro and Shima. Turning to the nightstand beside her,she put the picture on it and mentally noted that she had to give it back to Shima later. Seeing a book about living on land next to the place she had put the picture,she picked it up and decided to read it and catch up on living on land.


	5. o4: Day 2 part 1 &Hold on tight&

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**&****I**t was the darkest thing he had ever seen,the under water cave seemed to not use torches at this time for the inside was pitch black. Managing to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness,he scanned the area around the purple crystal ball. "There has to be something here that'll let me talk to Kairi."he said as he swam around also remembering to be quiet so not to wake up the sea witch. "Maybe I'll even find something that'll make winning the prince easier..."Sora said as he swam behind the crystal ball.

After a few minutes of searching,the crystal ball lit up,its purple light making Sora stay in one place. "What is this? A stray merman has found his way into my lair?"the voice hissed sending goosebumps down Sora's spine,"Oh no,it is Sora,bestfriend of the princess Kairi."the voice continued. Finding the strength to turn to the crystal ball,Sora watched as the sea witch arose from behind it. "Why are you here deary?"Kiyoko asked coldly letting one of her tenticals carresse the boy's face.

"Don't touch me!"Sora yelled as he slapped her tentical away hard,"Ouch,that hurt."Kiyoko said mockingly as she swam around Sora avoiding his death glares towards her. "Is the dear Sora still mad at me?"she asked and smirked when she saw Sora launch at her,"Now now,do you really think you can really hurt me?"she said as she flung Sora at the cave wall. Quickly,Sora recovered and scowled to himself,"You killed my brother!"he yelled in anger shaking his fists.

Kiyoko only laughed at him,she swiftly twirled around,"Your friend will soon suffer the same faith as your brother."she said as picked up a pendent from under her crystal ball,"See this?"she asked as she put it around her,"Its a luck charm that can read people's mind."she continued as she swam closer to Sora,"And your thinking about killing me!"she said as she raised her arm to strike him,"Buh-bye!"

Thinking quickly,Sora turned to his left to see a spear,quickly he grabbed it and while closing his eyes he swung it towards the sea witch. All he could hear was a gasp and screaming,he shot open his eyes to see he had cut one of Kiyoko's tenticals off. Smiling to himself,he threw the spear off and quickly grabbed the pendant around her neck,"And a...Buh-bye!"he said mockingly swimming as fast as he could out of there.

When he had reached the castle,he stopped to take a break. He took out the pendant he had stolen from Kiyoko and gave it a better examination,_What if it doesn't work?_,he thought bitting his tongue.

_Man I hope we find the princess soon._

_If we don't find her soon,I won't be able to make it to dinner._

_Where the heck is she?_

_I wonder how much I could get if I sold some of her jewely..._

"Huh?"Sora quickly turned his head to see a couple of people looking around the front yard of the palace,"Did I just hear their thoughts?"he asked himself as he listened again.

_Man is the king pissed off._

_Hey isn't that spiky-haired brat that borrowed money from me? He still owes me._

_I'm hungry._

Squeezing the necklace in his hand,Sora smiled,it had worked. Now he had a way to communicate with Kairi,but first he had to get to Kairi first. Looking around carefully,he made his way out of the yard without getting seen.

---

The sun seemed to smile brightly at her as she watched them,"Man...The skies look so pretty!"princess Shima said smiling to herself,it had been only a few hours since the whole castle had awaken. Her gaze at the sky slowly shifted to the waves at her feet,the water felt cold but she liked it. "Wonder where Hiro is...Wonder how Kairi is doing...Wonder if Demyx is done cooking breakfast."she mumbled out her thoughts to herself as she kicked the water playfully splashing back at the waves. It had been only yesterday since Kairi came here,Shima wouldn't admit it but she enjoyed having Kairi in the castle,it would be like she had an older sister.

Taking a deep breathe in,Shima remembered her family,oh how many of them there were and then came the war and they all vanished. She could remember her mother telling her that when the war was over that they would throw a big celebration,but now she knew that it never happen. "I miss you mom."she whispered.

"With the skies as blue as your eyes,

All we need is the wings of destiny.

As we soar together,

tomorrow will only come sooner.

My heart beats fast,

only when I'm with you though."

Softly,she slid a streak of hair behind her ear,she could feel a tear on her cheek. Oh how she missed her family.

"As the skies fill up with shooting stars,

my only wish is for you to be happy.

My fairytake doesn't need a hapy ending,

just for you to smile is enough.

Don't make me cry,

please just let me fly."

Hugging her knees,her head found a place to lay on.

"Why do they say dreams are fake?

Tell me they're real.

Tell me my wish is comming true.

Tell me I'll get to live my life with you."

Slowly,she lifted her head and gazed at the horizon,clouds were moving in,there was going to be a storm. "I should be getting back."she said standing up and reached for her sandels only to have the waves pull them away. "Hey!"she called out as she went out farther into the seas,she'd figure she could get to them without going into the deep part. Unfortunately,the waves got bigger and eventually swallowed her up,"Ugh..He...lp...HELP!"she shrieked as she tried to fight back the waves but they just pulled her even more farther away from shore. She opened up her mouth to yell one more time but the water flooded into her mouth and silently took her in.

---

"Made it!"the brunnette said as his head met the air but also the head of a huge wave,"Woah...Big storm!"he said as he swam through. Since mermen were such strong swimmers,Sora found no problem as he swam with ease through the storm. "Almost there!"he called out when something seem to hit him in the chest. "What was that?"he yelled as his eyes flew to the body of...the princesss Shima?

"What the..."he had no time to finish his sentence since a big wave took both their bodies farther off to prevent them from getting to shore. "Princess!"he called out as he grabbed her by the waist,"She's unconcious."he murmered as he continued to swim,this time with one hand. Luckily,he was able to get the two of them to shore. First thing he did was check her pulse,yep she was still alive,thank goodness. "I guess the waves took her in."he said to himself as he brushed her bangs to the side. Weird how she looked so peaceful even though she almost died,Sora smiled to himself,he slowly started to carresse her cheek when-

"Princess Shima!"

"Oh no where is she?"

"God knows why she went out here,especially since there's a strom!"

"Oh my gosh what if she drowned?"

Quickly,Sora shot his head up and even through the huge rock he was hiding behind,he could see a bunch of figures comming his way,"Ah crap I have to-"as he tried to swim away,he looked to see his own charm being tightly gripped by the princess. He bit his lip,it was the necklace his brother had given him before he was banished,there was no way he could just leave it here. Trying his best,he tried to unfold the priness' fingers from the charm only to be unsuccessful. The voices were getting closer,_I have to get out of here...But...Ah forget it Sora,just leave the charm here you can get it back later,you have more important stuff to do,_he thought as he slid his head from under the chain and swam out of sight.

"I found her!"

"Oh god princess Shima wake up!"

"Is she still breathing?"

"She still has a pulse. Hurry and get her to the palace!"

From behind the rocks,Sora watched the four servants carry the delicate princess to the palace. After a few minutes,he swam off to the other side of the shore hoping to find Kairi,somehow he had almost forgotten about her.

---

In her room,Kairi seemed to be at peace as she read her book although,the quiet didn't last that long. "Tifa!",Kairi stared at the door,she could hear a bunch of people running around,perhaps something big was happening. Getting onto her feet,the redhead opened her door and slowly headed downstairs. There she saw the prince pacing infront of Tifa's office.

She wasn't sure if she should approach him,luckily she didn't have to decide for the prince quickly noticed her. "Kairi."he said,Kairi took it as her cue to walk up to the prince,she could tell by his eyes that he was extremely worried,maybe sad. Oh how badly she wanted to talk to him and ask what was wrong,but she quickly remembered that she was mute. "Its Shima."the prince said after a minute of silence.

Kairi stared at him with shock,what could have happened? Hadn't she just seen the princess an hour ago go into her room and tell her good morning before going down to the shore? "She...They think that she drowned...They found her on shore unconcious."he said looking down. Oh how she hated seeing Hiro like this,she gave a comroting smile at him and rubbed his back as if trying to say,'It'll be okay',slowly the prince layed his head on Kairi's shoulder. It was obvious he needed support and Kairi wanted ot be the one to give it to him.

After a few minutes,the doors to Tifa's office opened,"How is she?"Hiro asked as he lifted his head from kairi's shoulder,"She's okay."Tifa said with a smile. "I'm so glad."Hiro said as he sighed,"Can I see her?"he asked recieving a nod from Tifa. Kairi watched as the prince entered the room,she stared at Tifa,"Yes,you can go in too."Tifa said smiling as if she had read her mind. Kairi quickly nodded and went in.

The room was flooded with servants,it was amazing there was still air to breathe in there,Kairi managed to squeeze through the crowd to see the princess sitting up and weakly smiling at everyone. "Hi there Kairi."she said softly seeing Kairi come in,smiling sweetly,Kairi patted the girl on the head. "I'm okay. Don't worry!"she said trying to laugh but only coughed.

"What the heck where you doing?"prince Hiro asked,his voice piercing as he stared hard at his cousin. "I was just sitting at the beach...just relaxing."Shima said weakly,"You nearly died!"Hiro said. Kairi stared at the two,Hiro seemed to be a bit too overprotective of his cousin. "I'm sorry..."Shima yelled as she broke down into tears,Kairi stared as she saw something shine from her hand. "Well,as long as your okay-what is that?"Hiro said as he grabbed a silver necklace from Shima's hands.

He stared at it,a silver chain with a silver crown attatched,"What is this?"he asked more softly,"I don't know,it was in my hands when I woke up."Shima said as she grabbed it back. "I think whoever saved me left it for me."she said as she layed back. "..."Hiro stared at her then turned to his servants,"Leave her be...She needs rest."he said as he turned back and patted her head. "You worry me sometimes."he mumbled as he turned to leave but came face to face with Kairi. "Oh..."he stepped back,"Sorry Kairi..."he mumbled as he left.

Kairi watched him then turned back to the princess,she wanted to see the necklace that Shima's rescuer gave her. As the princess eased off to sleep,she softly unfolded Shima's fingers and lifted the necklace. Her eyes widened.

_Sora!?_

The princess stirred,"What is it Kairi?"she asked seeing Kairi staring at the necklace in shock,Kairi gave her a sweet smile again and put the necklace back into herhands before she walked off.


	6. o5: Day 2 part 2 &Maybe Later&

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**&****S**oft sand caressed her feet as she walked towards the sea,Kairi stared around,_Where is he? Where's Sora?_,she asked herself. "Over here Kai!".Sharply she turned to see the brunnette merman waving at her,quickly she ran to him opening her mouth to yell a welcome at him except she knew she couldn't so she quickly closed her mouth. _Man its nice to see a familiar face,_she thought smiling at Sora."Yeah nice to see you too Kai."Sora said as he ehard her thoughts clearly and smirked.

Kairi stared at Sora for a minute,_Did he just read my mind?_ she thought but shook her head,_Nah it was just a lucky guess_,she thought and folded her hands behind her back. "Actually Kai,I did read your mind! Look at this!"Sora said as he drew the pendent he had stolen from Kiyoko,"Stole it form the seawitch herself."he said proudly. Flipping her red hair,Kairi nodded,slowly. _Read my mind...Yeah right..._she thought rolling her eyes,"I heard that."Sora mumbled as he tried to get closer to shore.

_So you can read my mind?_

"Clear as rain Kai."

"Er...So how's the prince thing?"

_Don't ask..._

"Not so good huh?"

Letting out a sigh,Kairi nodded to her friend's question. Looking down for a brief moment,Kairi finnaly remembered why she wanted to find Sora. _You saved princess Shima!_she exclaimed,in her thoughts. Sora stared at her for a minute before nodding,"Yeah..."he said tilting his head a bit,_Well...Well...Why did you give her your necklace?_she asked finnally deciding to take a seat on the sand. "Oh that! Well,she was grabbing it and I couldn't get her to let go and there was people looking for her so I just slipped it off...I can get it later anywyas..."Sora said not at all worried. Kairi nodded and turned back to the castle,_Looks like I ain't the only one falling in love with a human,_she thought mockingly,"I was just saving her,god Kai,anyone in my place would do the same. Anyways you should head back...They'll probably be worried about you. Oh and don't worry...I'll make sure that you win the prince over before your week is up!"Sora said reassuringly making Kairi smile.

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Quietly,Kairi slipped through the castle doors and into the room where Shima was. She seemed to be alot better when Kairi arrived,she was eating some soup and Sora's necklace hung around her neck proudly. "Hi there lady Kairi."Tifa greeted as she went in,she was currently working on some papers,Kairi nodded at her and walked to Shima,"Hi Kairi!"Shima said happily,she seemed to be very bored laying in bed for a long time. Kairi did nothing but smile,pulling herself a seat she watched the princess,her blue eyes met her purple ones.

"I wonder who saved me..."Shima asked from out of the blue,Kairi stared at her and pointed at the necklace,"Oh...Right."Shima stared at the necklace,she could even see her reflection in it. "It such a pretty necklace...I bet whoever saved me...I bet this necklace really meant alot to them,I should return it to them when I find them."she said as she turned her attention bakc to Kairi.

Her smile seemed to grow at what the princess said,_Heh...Wait till you meet your rescuer princess...He ain't all that._she thought hiding her laughs when the door boomed open. "Oh my god Shima! I came here as fast as I could when I heard you had drowned!"the young man exclamed as he walked past Tifa and to Shima's side,"Oh...Hi RIku..."Shima said smiling at him though it was obvious that she was shocked to see him here.

"Oh my,Shima are you okay?"the man called Riku said,Kairi looked behind him to see Tifa mocking him. "I'm okay Riku..Really."Shima said softly,"But she needs her rest so if you may..."TIfa abruptly interupted and opened the door,"Please take your leave..."she continued obviously annoyed. Riku flashed her a death glare before turning bakc to Shima with a soft look,"I'll check on you later okay?"he said as he walked out giving Tifa another glare.

Kairi stared as the door closed when RIku left,_Ooooh,Sora has competition_,she thought as she turned back to Tifa who was fluffing Shima's pillow. "I swear...That boy gets on my last nerves."Tifa was saying,"No he's not Tifa...I think he's nice."Shima said as she layed herself down,"Yeah...Nice like a hungry lion ready to kill an innocent deer!"Tifa scowled as she went back to her office.

Shima shifted her eyes to Kairi,her smile hadn't changed,"That's Riku,a rish man here on the islands."she said closing her eyes,"Maybe you should go lady Kairi,Shima needs her rest."Tifa said putting a hand on Kairi's shoulder. Taking a hint,Kairi nodded and slipped through the doors. The last thing she saw was Shima curling up in the bed while Tifa put some files into the cabinet.

---

Hiro paced around the royal ball room,"Your looking very stressed today prince Hiro."a tired Demyx said as he sat on a chair fanning himslf with a newspaper,"Well of course I am Demyx!"Hiro snapped at him as he started to hold his head,"I was just saying..."the cook said shrinking in his chair. "Oh god...Sorry Demyx...Its just..Just that...I have problems!"the very stressed Hiro said deciding to take a seat.

"Oh hi lady Kairi!"Demyx said quickly leaving his seat to greet the redhead,"Ugggnnnhhh!"Hiro groaned in depression. Kairi looked over at Hiro,she wondered why he was so stressed. "Geez...Why so blue Hiro?"Demyx asked poking the prince but quicky pulled his finger away when the prince threatened to bit it. "Shut up Demyx...I have too much to tink about."the prince said as he stood up once more and walked towards the window. Kairi looked around before deciding to walk over to him and place a hand on his shoulder to show she was comforting him.

"Thanks Kairi."he said touching the window and stared deeply at the sea,Kairi put on a smile and nodded,"I just have so much to do...I have to rue my kingdom...Take care of my only living relative and and...And I have to get married..."he said colliding his head to the glass. Kairi stared at the window,their reflections showed very clearly,_I have alot to do too_,she thought to herself before staring back at the prince.

"Hey listen Kairi,just so you know,your free to stay here at the castle. We...Well,we don't really mind and the outside is a really dangerous place and I wouldn't want a nice girl like you to get hurt..."Hiro said after a moment of silence and turned to her,Kairi smiled,_Oh my gosh! He wants me to stay here!_,she thought and quickly nodded which made Hiro put on a tiny smile.

"Should I leave you two alone?"Demyx asked but didn't wait for an answer for he had already left the room. "God I swear I need to get some better help."Hiro mumbled as he left the window and went to the library,Kairi hesitated but eventually followed. She stared around the library walls,covered with flags as well as pictures of obviously famous people. "You know,when I was younger and my family was stilll...Around...Me and my cousin Kano would always play hide and seek..."he walked to over to the aisle of mystery books,"This was our favorite place to hide,mostly because it was closest to the door and no one usually thought about looking here."he continued and pointed to the science section a few aisles away,"Shima,Rei and Ami would always be there reading books..."a laughed escaped him when he said the last part,"I don't even think I read a single book in here..."he said.

Kairi managed a smile,_It must be hard for him..to have his family taken away from him_,she thought and put her hand on his back and started to rub,"I miss them alot..."Hiro said as he layed his head on her shoulder,"Hope you don't mind,I just find laying on your shoulder to be...comfy."he mumbled,Kairi didn't budge but nodded,she actually had to admit,she loved having the prince's weight on her shoulder.

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"Wow the food looks so yummy!"a happy Shima chirped as she sat in her high chair and stared at the food layed out before her,she took a fork and started for the fish,"Hold up Shima!"Hiro gripped her arm before she could even reach out for her food,"We have to wait everyone to get here."he said as he stared at Kairi and the other servants in their seats. "Okay then,maybe now we can eat."he said letting go of her arm making her fork stick onto the fish,"Yes,love fish!"Shima cheered as she took a bite out of it.

Kairi poked the fish,now she was used to eating seafood since merman actually do eat seafood,but it just seemed weird. "Oh wow...Demyx you've outdone yourself!"Hiro yelled out to the kitchen,Kairi stared before taking a bite out of the fish,awkward how the royal cook never ate with them like the other servants. "When don't I sir?"she could hear the cook reply then a loud banging of pots after. "I'm okay!" Laughter filled the table,Kairi smiled,she was enjoying these people. They had treated so kindly. But if she failed her task,she might never see them again.


	7. o6: Day 3 &Thinking hard&

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**&****A** clicking sound was going around the royal palace as its inhabitants slept soundly. Pretty soon the sound siezed and a loud knocking replaced it,"What the freak do you want!?"an irritated prince Hiro yelled so loudly that Kairi,who was in the next room,woke up after hearing him. "Hiro! Wake up! Today's the day you have to go around and talk to the officials!"the little princess said as she yawned quietly. Behind the door she could hear her cousin rustling through some sheets before slamming on the floor hard,"I'll...I'll be out there in a minute!"he called out leaving the princess to quietly giggle before comming to Kairi's door. "Miss Kairi! Miss Kairi! Wake up!"she said quietly knocking on the door before opening it. "Miss Kairi?"she asked as she gazed around the room only to find Kairi already dressed and brushing her hair infront of her vainity.

Kairi put down her hairbrush and turned to the girl giving her a sweet smile,she waved at her and motioned her to come in. "Wow miss Kairi,you're so pretty!"Shima said as she walked next to Kairi. The redhead blushed at her compliment before turning to the mirror. _We're both princesses,yet I can't help but think we're so different_,Kairi thought as she stared at their reflections. They seemed to be opposites. Shima with her short dark gray hair,pale skin and purple eyes,Kairi with her medium length red hair,peachy skin and blue eyes. Perhaps it was only the way they looked that made Kairi think of them so differently,Shima seemed more professional and well built for being royalty while Kairi barely knew how to rule a kingdom.

"Hello? Kairi? Are you up yet?"the voice of Hiro at the door made the two girls jump in surprise,"She's up!"Shima yelled as she opened the door to see Hiro having a hand over his eyes,"Is she decent?"he asked sounding a bit blunt. Kairi smiled as she got up and walked over behind Shima,"Yes,she's-"Shima looked up to see Kairi removing Hiro's hand. "Hi Kairi!"the prince said with a bit of blush on his face. "Yeah okay. Hiro! Officals! Now!"the princess said as she took both their hands and dragged them downstairs.

Hiro slugged along,he barely got any sleep last night,too many nightmares. His eyes wandered to Kairi who was trying to keep her pace to stay with the princess,somethign about her made him feel a bit weird. "Demyx had to go do some stuff in town so he made breakfast early."Shima said as she took her seat,Hiro pulled up a seat for Kairi before sitting in his own. _Food...The only thing that I never get stressed about!_ Hiro thought happily as he took big bites out of his breakfast,slowly his food vanished. "Ugh...You eat like a two year-old."Shima said shaking her head as she drank her chocolate milk,Kairi had to nod her head to agree with her. "Yeah whatever. Not everyone is as polite and pleasant as you miss princess!"Hiro said laughing a bit,his eyes went over the necklace hanging around her neck,"Hey its that necklace from last night."he said pointing at it with his fork,"Very good Hiro!"Shima said sarcastically rolling her eyes.

"Why are you wearing it?"Hiro said ignoring her comment,Shima spun her straw around in her cup,"It looks pretty,"she said as she took a sip,"plus,it'll be easier for the person to reconize when I'm wearing and when he sees I'm wearing he'll know that I appreciate him for saving me."she added as she went to the kitchen to put her plate away. When she was gone,Hiro laughed again,he stopped when he saw Kairi staring at him like he was crazy. He pulled the collar of his shirt before laughing nervously,"Well,"he started to say,"don't you think its funny that she's wearing that thing? Heck,her hero might be some old man for all we know..."he said but saw no reaction on Kairi's face. "Nevermind."he said slaming his head on the table.

_I think the stress is starting to get to him_,Kairi thought as Shima came back,"Your still not done? Com'n Hiro! What kind of prince is late for his meetings?"she said as she took away his plate while also picking up Kairi's plate. "Get goin' will ya?"she said as she kicked the kitchen doors open again before dissapearing behind them. Hiro gave a small smile as he got up,"I swear,she's even worse than my mother!"he said as he walked to the door but turned around to see Kairi walking towards the stairs,"Hey Kairi!"he called out,she turned around to face him. Again he pulled at his collar,"Say...How 'bout you go along with me to the meting? You'll get to see what a real prince does on his job."he said smiling a crooked smile. Kairi stared at him,_Me? He wants me to come with him? Oh my gosh!_ Kairi put on a smile as she ran to him and they both went.

The two had already left when Shima came back,"Well...I guess I have the palace to myself."she said as she looked around the empty dining room. "Okay then,"she let out a sigh,"I'm bored."she said as she walked outside,perhaps she could go to the beach without drowning this time. The servants were currently sunbathig,today was their dayoff though they still had to work,without them the palace wouldn't be able to go so smoothly. "G'd morning princess Shima! Be careful!"the servant boy Tidus warned her as he and Yuffie played volleyball,he had his head turned so the ball smacked him.

"Yuffie!"

"Your fault!"

Shima giggled as she saw them play,she walked past them to the part of the beach that was empty. It was here she sat and stared at the endless sea,she rested her head on her knees. The coldness of the necklace was easily felt,she carefully took it of and stared at it,her reflection shone clearly in it. "My,it's such a nice necklace. Such a shame they had to leave it."she said as she gripped it hard. A soft breeze blew through causing small waves,she smiled to herself as she playfully kicked at the water.

"Having fun?"

"Hmmm?"she looked up to meet Riku's green eyes,she smiled slightly,"Hi Riku."she said not taking her eyes off the sea. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Riku take a seat next to her. "Are you okay?"he asked softly pulling a streak of her hair behind her ear,a blush on her face was clearly seen,"Uh...No...I mean yes,I'm okay."she said nervously. She kept her gaze straight for she could not look at Riku without blushing,"I really missed you..."he started to lean towards,_Crap crap!_,she thought panicked as she leaned back but her eyes fixed on a hermit crab that stood right next to him,_What in the world?_,she thought before seeing the hermit grab launched its claw at Riku and...

"Ow! What the freakin heck?"

The boy yelled in pain as he ran in pain with the hermit crab hanging on his hand. Shima watched unable to hide her laughs. "Help me!"the boy yelled in anger as he shook his finger hard trying to get the crab to let go of him but it somehow managed to keep a tight grip on him. "Hold on! Princess Shima to the rescue!"she said running after him. Neither of the two noticed the head of spiky brown hair behind a huge rock laughing out of control.

_Man he was this close,I should be sad he didn't kiss me but for some reason I'm not._

_Damn crab. I was so freakin' close._

Sora laughed as he twirled the mind reading pendent around his finger,_Maybe it was a good thing to have read that book on how to talk to crabs_,he thought as he turned back around to see Shima unattatching the crab,"Now now little crabby,that's not very nice."she said as she spun around with it before letting it go. "Buh-bye!"she said waving as the crab swam behind the rock to Sora,"Nice job slick."he said patting the crab's shell. _Yeah yeah whatever_,the crab said as it swam back. "I swear! I will eat that crab!"Riku yelled in anger as he gripped onto his red finger,Shima patted the boy on the shoulder. "Man that was nice,"Sora said than realised something,"but why did I do that?"he asked staring blankly towards the princess. Was he...Nah...But...No...

"Heh...I ain't in love."he said as he scratched his head and went back to watching the two teens on shore. His gaze quickly got tense when he saw Riku wrap an arm around Shima's waist. "So,where were we?"he heard Riku asked seductivly,Shima blushed,"Uh...I think I hear Yuffie callling me."she said trying to unwrap his arm. Sora bit his lip,"Okay...Maybe I am in love...But only a little. Atleast I'm not like Kairi."he said as he searched for another crab.

**&&&&&**

Hiro was practically slamming his head onto the table,_I swear,if that damn mayor says another word...I will certainly kill him!_ he thought as he stared at Kairi who was being polite and watched with a fake look of interest in what the mayor was talking about. "Pssst...Kairi..."he whispered trying to get her attention,she turned to him and arched an eyebrow,"I'm bored!"he whispered a bit loudly. Kairi gave him a mocking smile,"Don't look at me like that!"he said staring back at the mayor,"This guy keeps talking and talking..."he murmered. _That's why they call it a lecture_ Kairi thought looking back at the lecture.

"Thank you all for listening."

When the mayor ended,Hiro immediantly jumped out of his seat and ran for the exit with his arm gripping on Kairi. "Oh Prince Hiro!"an official called out,_Damn it_.the prince thought as he turned around with a fake smiled plastered on his face. "Yes,Mr.Xemnas?"he asked not noticing his hand sliding down to cup his hand around Kairi's. A soft blush appeared on Kairi's face,_Oh my gosh!_ she thought looking away before anyone could see her red face. "Ah...I heard your cousin came back to the islands."the man said. He was not quite an old man,probably in his late 30s or something,his hair was pure white though his skin was dark,probably from all the sun they got here on the islands. "Oh,yeah she did."Hiro replied hopping to end the conversation then and there,"I also heard you were looking for a bride."Xemnas said and laughed when he saw the prince's red face. "Well...Yeah...But I'm in no hurry."he replied scratching his head nervously laughing for no reason. Kairi stared at him,_Why didn't anybody tell me that?_ she thought as she quickly turned away,"Really? Well then..."Xemnas motioned towards their joined hands,"Oh...I..."Hiro turned even redder as he quickly let go of Kairi's hand,"Well...It ain't like that!"he said.

Xemnas laughed,"Sure sure,but who is this young lady?"he asked turning all attention to Kairi,"Oh,this is Kairi. I found her on the shore;she's deaf. I'm letting her stay at the castle."he said as Kairi constantly tried to avoid eye contact with the mayor. "I see,"Xemnas said gazing around the hall,"well prince HIro,you are so much like your father,always willing to help the needy."he said. "Sir,we need you back at the office."a blue haired man said,"Ah,yes,thank you Saix."Xemnas said as he turned to walk off,"I wish you good luck on your rule Prince Hiro."he added quickly before leaving.

The two teens watched him leave with a blush plastered all over their face,"Uh..."Hiro decided to speak first,then agian he was the only one who could speak,"Sorry Kairi."he said turning to her almost refusing to look at her in the eyes,"I go tnervous...Gah! I'm such an idiot."he said but felt a hand on his shoulder,he looked to see Kairi's reassuring smile,_I forgive you_. "Why don't I make it up to you?"Hiro said as he walked Kairi outside the townhall,Kairi stared at him,"How bout...A boat ride with dinner?"he asked,imediantly Kairi nodded. "Great!"Hiro said not noticing he and Kairi were blushing agian. "To the castle!"he said as they ran off.


	8. o7: Day 3 &Unfortunately&

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**&****S**ilence over took the dinning room as Demyx stood in the middle of it all,a tray of food was in each hand and a frown on his face. "Where is everyone?" he asked out of the blue as he layed the plates on the table,he started to scratched the back of his head as he wore that confused look on his face. "Hello...hello,hello?" he asked into the empty palace making the echoes himself. Sighing,the royal cook kicked the floor in defeat and started to head to the kitchen when the door bursted open and Shima came running in with Hiro at her tail. "Help me!" Shima yelled as she ran under the table as an angry Hiro tried to do the same but he had grown too big and ended up banging his head on the table. Demyx stared in confusion as Yuffie entered the scene with Tidus behind her,"What the?" Yuffie watched the scene infront of her before she stood between Hiro and Shima,"Okay,what's going on here?" she asked as Shima clung to her. "I'll tell you what's going on,"Hiro said angrily as he glared at the two girls infront of him,"Shima let Riku kiss her!" Hiro yelled pointing at the girl accusingly which made her shrunk in confidence. Kairi entered on the scene eventually when Demyx had gone back into the kitchen. Yuffie sighed but the look of irritation was still clearly plastered on her face,"Okay,okay,calm down you two." she said in her immitation of what a mother would sound like,carefully,the ninja girl seperated the two a bit farther apart from eachother.

"Now Hiro,calm down,I'm sure she didn't mean to...RIGHT SHIMA?" Yuffie shouted as she could easily hear Shima's footsteps from behind her,"Uh...Right." the girl replied back as she stopped as if she had just been caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. "See?" Yuffie asked smiling sinisterly,"Shima didn't let Riku kiss her." she said as she put her arms on her waist in victory,"Actually,"Shima started,"WHAT!?" Hiro and Yuffie yelled at the same time tunring back to the princess,"I did sort of..."she started but she quickly turned red after seeing Hiro and Yuffie's expressions,"He didn't kiss me,don't worry." Shima said in conclusion as she folded her hands her and smiled inncoently letting the sunlight hit the white gold necklace around her neck. Before anyone could argue,Hiro felt a hand on his shoulder and even before he saw who it was,he already knew,"Oh,Kairi." he said slowly as he caught her gaze. Tidus,who had been quiet at the time,stood beside Shima as they watched Hiro pull out Kairi's chair. "Uh...Lunch is served!" Hiro said as he motioned for Shima to eat,it seemed that he had forgotten that he was mad at her. Nodding her head,she nodded slowly before she nodded to Yuffie and Tidus to take their leave before she sat down.

"So..." the atmosphere had regained the silence from before,Shima blew her bangs up as she spun her fork against the cooked salmon making it look like a big mess. Eventually,she had to ask,"How was the meeting with the officials?" Shima asked trying to make it sound less demanding than it did,Hiro took a second before he finally looked up at his cousin's purple eyes. "It was good,how was your day?" he said cooly as he continued to eat,Shima stared at him before she shifted her gaze to Kairi who just smile and nodded in agreement to Hiro. "My day was good I guess." she eventually replied before she finished up her food. She took up Demyx's confused look as she put on her coat and walked out the door,"I'm going for a walk." she said slowly,"Be back before 10 and don't go near Riku!" Hiro warned her before the door closed on her.

Hiro glanced over at Kairi,"Am I too harsh on her?" he asked,Kairi shook her head,_Your just doing what a responcible cousin would do_,she thought in her head as she looked through the window and watched Shima climb down the rocky cliffs,she wandered if Sora was there too.

**&&&&&**

A childish smile painted on her face as Shima stared at her reflection,she always thought of herself pretty. _"Why yes miss Shima,you are so pretty!" or "Wow,you're so pretty"_ even so,it did sort of irk her that she was only thought of as being pretty and nothing else. No beautiful or gorgeous,_Oh well,maybe when I'm older_,she thought to herself as she ran her hand through her hair;it felt like silk to her. Than again,it wasn't how a princess looked that was judged by the people,it was how they ruled the kingdom and Shima knew she would be a good ruler. Hearing footsteps behind her,Shima quickly sat up,"Havin' fun princess?" the voice took her by surprise as it wasn't Riku like she expected. Turning her head,she saw Demyx looming over her with a childish grin on his face,"Oh,hi Demy!" Shima replied happily as she gave a childish wave. Demyx nodded as he walked towards the ocean and sat down letting the water hit his bare feet,"The water feels nice today." he said amused as he splashed the princess,"Hey!" she whined as she splashed him back leading to a water-splashing fight between the two.

The chorus of laughter between the two sounded so calm as people passed by and watched with an entertained look on their faces. After about a few minutes of running around in the water and getting themselves wet,the two sat on a huge rock just a few feeet from where the water was comming at. Shima was giggling out of control as she squeezed her hair dry letting the water land on the poor royal cook's hair,"Hey! You're messin' up the hair!" Demyx said as he ran his hand through the soaked hair;his back leaned against the rock with the princess sitting on the top,almost looming over him like the sky. Shaking his hair violently,Demyx tried his best to dry it only to find out that it only led him to wet his face,"Gah!" Demyx finally stood up and stared at his wrist where a watch was suppose to be,"I have to go cook dinner!" he said then turned to Shima who was staring at the clouds up above,"Damn it Shima,you distracted me!" he teased pointing at her before strolling back to the palace,"Buh-bye Demy!" Shima said as she waved and watched her friend take his leave.

Turning back over to the sight of the ocean,Shima layed her head on her knees as she inhaled the scent of the ocean side. It took a moment before the girl moved again,her hand found its place on her chest where the crown charm of the necklace layed,she could feelt it vibrate under her heartbeat and it felt quite nice. Sighing,she slid down the rock and leaned her head against the rock's cold surface,closing her eyes,she found herself being pushed down by the darkness. Eventually it led her to a nice soothing dream.

She was dancing,dancing in the middle of a marble floor. Her shoes tapped on the floor making a beat against the floor and her partner made her move only more smoothly and perfectly. Shima found herself feeling at pure bliss though her purple eyes were set on the crystal floors,staring intently at her reflection of her princess self. A stunning white dress layed upon her and ribbons decorated her hair,she looked just like what you'd think a princess would look like. Even so,her eyes lifted up to see her partner although once she did,she came face to face with the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. A sheepish laugh escaped through her lips as she felt him pull her closer to him and still she felt at bliss,atleast she took a closer look into her partner's eyes. All she could see was saddness all of a sudden and she couldn't help but cry.

Back in the real world,the princess was still sleeping when Sora swam to the shore,he smiled at the sight of her;the last time he had seen her was when he had saved her. Sora swam as close as he could to the shore without risking being seen to take a better look at her,when he saw her crying in her sleep,he coud only frown. He felt like reassuring her although he knew that would be impossible,plus he couldn't risk being seen.

Beside him,the water started to bubble and foam,"What the-" he was cut off by a purple light beaming out of the water. For a second,Sora was blinded. When the light was gone and Sora could see,a woman with long purple hair stood on shore. "Kiyoko!" his voice was lost to the soft singing comming from Kiyoko. Sora cringed,the voice belonged to Kairi. The princess who layed only a few feet from Kiyoko slowly fluttered her eyes open. Sora sneered and gritted his teeth as he glanced at the sea witch. Her ugly tenticals were gone and replaced by human legs,"Wha? Who's there?" princess Shima asked as she rubbed her eyes and got a clear sight of Kiyoko who kept on singing,it was the song that she had sung the day she drowned.

"Who are you?" Shima asked softly as she reached forward to grab the lady's dress,Sora twitched his right eye and before he could stop himself,he had already yelled loudly,"Stay away from her princess Shima!". The girl stopped what she was doing and stared into the sea where a huge wave came out of no where and grabbed her. "Help!" she scraemed as she felt the feeling of deja vu from back when she had drowned yesterday. her throat burned as the water flooded into her lungs,"Help!" she cried but the water continued to pull her in. Sora took his cue and began to swim towards her like before only this time-Kiyoko grabbed him from behind. "Fall back sodlier!" she yelled as she motioned the wave to bring back the unconcious girl. Sora sneered at the sea witch as she smirked,"My,with Kairi's voice,I should be able to win over the prince's heart easily!" Kiyoko mused as a spear appeared in her grasp. "No,the prince'll never marry you!" Sora said angrily trying to struggle out of the mermaid's grip,he looked down to the water. Kiyoko continued to hold the boy above the water,she laughed evily as she tapped her shoes against the rock she stood on.

"Die,just like your brother!" Kiyoko yelled as Sora stared in horror,then in a matter of seconds,the merman flew to the bottom of the sea and slamming into a hard wall. "Ouch..." he muttered holding his head only to hear a wizzing sound of something heading right for him,"What the-" the sentence never left his mouth when the spear pierced his skin and stuck him to the wall. "Nooo." he muttered as he slumped his head,blood dripped into the ocean almost staining the little area around the boy red.

**&&&&&**

A satisfied look appeared on Kiyoko's face,"There,now there are no more distractions to keep me from getting the prince and once I do,I'llrule the land and the sea!" the witch said triumphantly before she gazed at Shima's body,"And you my dear girl," she said as she knelt beside her,"will help me to do this." she muttered as she let out a cackle. Although,from ontop a cliff above where the sea witch couldn't see,a shady figure watched. His fists shook hard as he turned around and walked away.

"That's what you think Kiyoko,that's what you think..."


End file.
